This is a creative outlet in a journey that is constantly intersecting the muddy-ness of life with the movement of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to join me as I ruminate on the walk to discern God's movement in the midst of the mess.

Friday, September 30, 2011

God is in the Details

I am sitting in my office and waiting for Chuck to come and get me. Somehow or another, I am pretty sure my car keys are locked in the secretary's office and here I am. Waiting.

Which is okay because God is in the details and it is in these moments that give me a chance to breathe, to reflect and to write this blog which I have ignored for a while.

I have been busy with a lot of details which I tend to hate, ignore, avoid. Today our church newsletter got printed - and that involved lots of details on my part - writing articles, making sure I got the dates write, proof reading, calling people to double check what was going on. It goes on and on. And it feels to me like drudgery but it is all so necessary.

We are doing our BIG SUNDAY this Sunday - our "One World" Sunday and there have been lots of details for me to take care of. I am an idea person but unfortunately the follow through involves details to manage and - hardest of all - remember! We are changing the service a little and the bulletin needs to match the ideas in my head. We are giving away a globe keychain with a prayer attached and all of that needs to be put together. It goes on and on and I am continually trying to remember what I thought had been planned.

But what I have learned over and over again is that the details can really trip me up and they can really make a difference. And maybe the attention to detail that is so important and difficult is also part of God's call to me to slow down and to be patient. My tendency to want to breeze through this stuff keeps me from seeing what is there for me to see - both problems and blessings.

There is a mantra - slow down, take it easy, take your time. God is here - in the details.

Tuesday I had a thought as I frequently do - about one of our long time members of the church and what a blessing she was in the way that she works so quietly behind the scenes. What brought her to mind was that our church was invited to join the community in a clean up of Tamarack Circle which is an area near the church. We publicized it alot. I was in North Carolina and could not go and only recently learned that only two women participated in this project. She was one of them. So, I took a moment - maybe 5 - a wrote a quick note to her thanking her for her servant's heart and the blessing that she was to me and to the church. Today she came up to may and was thrilled - saying what it meant to her that "somebody noticed."

Over and over I learn - God is in the details - the smallest moments if we just slow down and look.